Paradox
by Panshope
Summary: "I'm just moving before I get crushed."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I do not own Criminal Minds. Just thought I'd let y'all know ;) **

**Do Enjoy ~ **

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Emily Prentiss and Jennifer Jareau had known each other for quite some time now, first as colleagues, then as friends who became best friends but now it was something more.

Just like the rest of the team she had been wary of the new profiler, they were a family and she was about to become a large part of their lives with the crazy hours they worked, the amount of time they had to spend together. Slowly but surely Emily had worked her way into the hearts of them all whether she knew it or not. JJ especially had a soft spot for the smouldering brunette and with time it grew; they would flirt with each other either directly or indirectly, let off some steam after a particularly hard case, spend time together outside of work.

She enjoyed the banter that passed between them on a daily basis but at some point, to her, it became more than just banter. She would get butterflies in her stomach if Emily winked at her or get a ridiculous goofy smile on her face if Emily complimented her. JJ couldn't pin point when exactly but somewhere down the line she realized that she felt more than just friendship for the profiler.  
So here she was, standing in her office peering through the blinds at Emilys desk watching her come back from a short lunch with her girlfriend.

Emily had been dating Lucy for about six months now.

Lucy was a blonde bombshell; her hair fell just past her shoulders and was currently tied into a messy ponytail, the same height as herself if not slightly taller, a killer body and the most amazing vivid green eyes she had ever seen. Of course she hadn't told the older woman how she felt; after all Emily was a very private person and had only introduced Lucy to them about two months ago not to the mention the complications at work they would have if they became a couple.

But. . . . she still wanted to be more than friends.

After watching them exchange a brief kiss she sighed and turned away from the window eyeing the stacks of folders on her desk. The blonde couldn't fault Lucy, she was a wonderful, generous person and they easily became friends but she still had something she wanted. Emily.

A light knock on her door startled her slightly before she answered. "Come in."

What JJ didn't expect to see was Lucy coming into her office. She panicked wondering if the other woman had seen her staring through the blinds.

"Hey Lucy, how are you?" she asked embracing her friend.

"I'm good, I was er, just wondering if we could talk about something?" she asked, her eyes downcast. "I mean if you have the time."

"Sure I do. What's wrong?" JJ leant against her desk. Looking into green eyes she saw sadness. "Oh god, is it serious? Something to do with your health? Or Emilys?"

Lucy chuckled. "Don't panic so much JJ, we are both in fine health but it is something to do with Emily and me yes."

"Okay. . ."

"Just hear me out before you say anything. I know you have feelings for Emily and I know that she feels the same. ." JJ started to protest but she held her hand up silencing her. "Please let me finish okay. It shows in the way she talks about you; how her eyes light up when she sees you, how you make her laugh, how when she's just around you she seems so much happier."

"That's just, were just friends y'know, it's just how. . ."

"I see the same thing in you and I thought that in time it would go away. That it was just a phase but that was a while ago yet I still carried on because she makes me feel incredible. Emily is beautiful, intelligent and extraordinary. No one wants to give up what makes them happy."

"Lucy I. ." the media liaison started.

JJ watched her close the small space between them and hug her, she wrapped her arms round the other woman.

"It's okay." she pulled away from younger blonde. "Just please wait until after tonight before you guys do anything." she smiled. "Oh and tell her. Tell her how you feel."

She turned away from JJ and opened the door before she was caught by the younger womans voice.

"If she makes you happy, if you're happy then why are you telling me this?"

Looking over her shoulder she replied. "Even I'm not stupid enough to stand in the way of what fate wants. It's like when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, you gotta get out of the way or you'll get crushed."

Emily leant back in her chair stretching her arms above her head, as she opened one eye she saw her girlfriend leave her favourite blondes office. Curiosity got the better of her and as she felt the need for a break from paperwork she made her way over to the small office.

She knocked on the door frame. "Hey, want some coffee?"

"Shut the door."

"JJ. . ."

"Come in and shut the door." brilliant blue eyes stared into dark ones.

Emily did as she was told and shut the door behind her as she stepped inside, worrying that her girlfriend might have said something to upset the blonde.

Quicker than she could react to it JJ had crossed the room and wrapped her arms around the taller woman in a second. "Jennifer. ."

The blonde got goosebumps every time the brunette would use her full name, she took in a deep breath inhaling the scent of Emily which she loved. There was just something about it that made her instantly feel calm. She felt a pair of strong arms tighten their hold on her.

Emily relished these moments with JJ, when she could hold her close and run her fingers through those blonde locks.  
Admittedly it had taken her a while to be able to let another person in this close but when she had she found that she didn't really mind it if it was JJ. Ever since she had met the feisty media liaison she had fallen instantly but after a year or so it was apparent that the feeling wasn't mutual, hell she didn't even know if JJ swung that way so she gave up and pursued other women. Although JJ was never far from her mind.

She heard the blonde mumble something. "I can't hear you properly." the mumble was louder this time but still unintelligible. "I still can't -"

"I like you! God damn it I like you Emily Prentiss!" JJ pulled away.

"You what . ." it was the most ineloquent thing that Emily had probably ever said.

"You'd think being a profiler that you might have seen it y'know."

The brunettes mind was still reeling from the confession. "Me, what? How did this turn into _my _fault?"

"It's not, I . . I just . ." she looked into the brunettes eyes seeing the walls go up. "Emily I meant what I said. Please tell me I'm not the only one here." she cupped her cheek.

Emily placed her hand over JJ's and pulled it down with hers but she kept her hold. "You're not. Since I first saw you I haven't been able to get you out of my head. Look at Lucy, she's pretty much you but with green eyes."

"So you like me?"

"At the risk of it sounding juvenile; yes Jennifer I like you." she grinned.

Tilting her head slightly she moved to kiss those pink lips that had been taunting her from day one. Feeling something pressing against her lips she opened her eyes to see JJ's finger.

"We can't until you tell her."

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Emily opened the door to her condo and threw her keys onto the small table. She knew what she had to do but she couldn't help feeling bad about it. Lucy was a good person, she put up with her shit, the long hours and the cancelled plans. She walked into her living room, surprised to see the blonde sitting on a suitcase, a glass of wine in her hand.

"Lucy . ."

"Emily." she nodded taking another sip.

"There's something I need to talk to you about, why are you sitting on your suitcase?"

She drained the rest of her glass, set it down and walked over to the brunette, her suitcase wheeling on behind her.

"You are one heck of a woman Emily Prentiss. You really are, you have made me indescribably happy but I would be a fool if I didn't see it. I cooked, your favourite is in the oven when you're ready for it."

Lucy moved past Emily and towards the door.

"At least stay and eat with me, you cooked it after all so. . ."

Lucy sighed and turned around. She closed the gap between the two of them and gently kissed Emily one last time, looking into dark eyes she smiled. "Ever still the knight in shining armour. Just promise me we'll still be friends."

"Okay." she watched the blonde walk away. "But-t why? How did yo-"

"I'm just moving before I get crushed." she opened the door. "See you around Emily."

Emily Prentiss stood in her condo feeling confused but excited.  
Although she had just watched one chapter of her life walk away she couldn't help but smile at the thought of the new one opening up.

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**A/N: O HAI THURRR.**

**Okay so this is my first time writing for _any _ TV show ever because personally I think it's slightly harder to write fanfiction for shows with actual actresses/actors. **

**BUT I'm a big fan of criminal minds and more so the JJ/Emily pairing and I thought this up and wanted to put it down. **

**Iunno whether I should make this into a full blown story or keep it as a one shot. I guess if it gets enough interest I will :) **


	2. Collide

**A/N: First off I would like to thank: Cernie, Eternity, Slayer-Gal-X, Homer2712, Rookie91, tazlvr2001, CloisDestiny, alice, Finalhybrid, JadeGreen27, erw-fan and everyone who favourited and alerted too. Really made my day so thankyouuuuu :3**

**Enjoy ~ **

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_One month later. . . _

JJ and Emily had a small ritual.  
Every morning Emily would ride the elevator and get off a floor early and then take the stairs up to the BAU floor whereas as JJ would time is just right so that she walked down the stairs and they met in the middle of the stairwell.

The brunette would smile like a cheshire cat before pretending to not notice her and try to move past but the blonde would retaliate by stepping in front of her effectively blocking her path.

"Agent Prentiss."

"Agent Jareau."

"Fancy seeing you here." blue eyes sparkled.

"Yeah, fancy that huh?" Emily moved up a step closing the small distance between them. "Jennifer I do believe that you're blocking my way."

The media liaison feigned innocence. "Oh? Am I? Well there's all that free space over there."

She sighed dramatically. "Well I guess I'll just have to make you move a little."

JJ's breath hitched as the profiler moved forward and those beautiful soft lips captured her own. Her eyes fluttered closed and her lips began to move on instinct in response to Emilys. Since they had confessed their feelings for each other they hadn't had much time to spend together due to the stream of long cases. Slightly breathless they pulled away, leaning their foreheads together.

She felt Emilys strong hands on her hips, opening her eyes she looked down into smouldering ones feeling butterflies flit around in her stomach. Smirking she leant back and gently moved the blonde to the side and continued walking up the stairs leaving JJ standing there, her fingers gently tracing her lips.

However this morning was not one of those mornings.

Last night after getting back from a rough case that took its toll on the entire team Emily suggested that they grab some coffee, feeling bad for not being able to see JJ much during the week. The blonde accepted and Emily took her to her favourite coffee shop.

"_You sure you're up for this? If you're too tired we can do it another time." _

_JJ chuckled. "Emily it's fine." secretly she was happy that they had some alone time as they hadn't really spoken about where they were with each other. _

_The coffee shop wasn't a big place, it was small and quaint, private. _

_A place that suited Emily quite well she thought. They waited in line and ordered their coffee whilst slipping into comforting small talk. Once they were served the brunette paid and they grabbed a table in the back. It was then that she noticed something black on the white mug, reaching over she swivelled the cup round seeing that a number had been written on it. JJ lifted her eyes from the mug and they wandered over to the counter to see a woman watching them both. _

"_Are you okay?"_

_Blue eyes flitted back. "What's this?" she swivelled the cup. _

"_The girl behind the counters number."_

"_Oh, so you know that she wants you. Is that why you brought me here? So that you could pick up another woman?" It was possible she thought; neither of them had stated that this was a relationship, just that they had a mutual attraction. _

"_Totally JJ, I bought the girl I like to a coffee place so I could get the number of some random girl who works here."_

"_Well then how did she know you were gay?"_

_Emily could feel the growing headache. "Maybe a rainbow appeared and a unicorn came floating down it and turned on the glowing gay sign above my head." _

_JJ looked at her incredulously before it morphed into anger. Getting up she took out her purse and threw some money on the table before storming out._

"_JJ!" _

The fact that the younger woman hadn't met her meant she was still pissed and rightly so but she had been accused of using her to pick up another woman. Remembering that Emily felt just as annoyed and strode into the office narrowingly missing colliding into said blonde.

"Watch where your going." JJ snapped and slammed her door.

"Yeah cause I'm the only one with eyes." she muttered under her breath before plopping down in her chair.

Derek Morgan was a handsome man by anyones account, took good care of himself, extremely loyal to his friends and a born joker. So when he saw the odd exchange between his two friends he wanted to make sure everything was okay.

"You two have an argument or something Prentiss?"

Already irritated Emily didn't want to be interrogated. "Not everyone wants to open up to you Morgan. Not everyone wants you to know their problems so whatever you think you saw forget it and just leave it god damn alone."

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After she had blown up at Derek she walked of to get some coffee but thankfully he had heeded her words and left her alone for the rest of the day, hell the entire team gave her a wide berth. As the day it had gone on in a quiet silence, her anger began to dissipate and she began to feel like an ass for what she said.

Now, she had somehow found herself standing outside a familiar apartment at close to one am. Knocking on the door she waited a minute or so before it opened up to reveal Lucy standing in boxers with robots on them, a bra and an unbuttoned white shirt.

"Emily. . ." they hadn't seen each other in over a month although they had spoken once or twice. Emily had kept to them agreeing to be friends.

"I'm sorry it's so late, I just didn't know who else to turn to."

"Come on in you." Lucy stepped aside, still slightly shocked but glad to see the brunette. "Sit down, make yourself comfortable.

Emily did as was suggested and sat down on the couch, the apartment was quite large with a generous view of the city. The moon shone in through the large window softly illuminating parts of the room.

"Drink?" she asked from the kitchen.

"Er no, I drove here so I have to drive back."

"Suit yourself."

Emily heard the clink of ice hitting the bottom of the glass as she settled back into the couch resting her head on the back. Even though they weren't together any more she felt comfortable around Lucy after all she had spent six months of her life with this woman, even lived with her for a short while. She was probably her closet friend outside of work.

Feeling the pressure next to her she opened her eyes and stared up at the dark ceiling as ice rattled in the glass.

"So what brings you to my humble abode?"

"I think I screwed it up with JJ." Lifting her head up she looked over at Lucy seeing the woman raise her eyebrow as she took another sip of her scotch. "The good stuff?"

"These days it's always the good stuff."

The profiler looked her over noticing the tired look in her eyes, they were void of spark and the small bags under her eyes. She was about to ask if she was okay when the bedroom door opened and another woman walked out. A woman who bared a striking resemblance to herself, the dark eyes, the shoulder length dark hair, the same build.

Lucy felt her ex-girlfriend looking at her and knowing exactly what look she was giving her she decided to ignore her.

"Before you even begin to profile me, yes I know she looks like you. Why do you think I went for her in the first place and no I'm not over you yet and yes I know it's not healthy."

Emily went to speak but she was interrupted by the anonymous female. "You brought me back here all because I look like her?" she pointed.

"It's rude to point." she swirled the amber liquid.

"Screw you." the woman stalked back into the bedroom grabbing her things before leaving and slamming the door.

"Right so what happened?" green eyes watched her intently.

Emily explained what had happened at the coffee shop, about the random girl writing her number on her mug, JJ taking it the wrong way as well as what she said.

The blonde laughed. "You actually said _that_. Damn Emily you can be a sarcastic little fuck sometimes."

"I know. It was stupid. Stupid, stupid stupid." she groaned. "But honestly thinking I took her there to pick up a woman."

"For someone who studies human behaviour you're a little dense my friend."

"Erh, what?"

"Okay, it's been a long month for the both of you okay so that didn't help the situation and because you haven't had a chance to talk about your feelings yet she doesn't know where she stands. She's feeling vulnerable Emily."

The profiler nodded. "Why didn't I see it dammit."

"Well that. . ." she got up and started to refill her glass. "Might be because you're trying so hard to make everything go right that you're getting blind sided."

"You're on a roll tonight." Emily smiled.

Lucy faltered on her words when she saw that smile, the smile she missed. Holding up her glass she spoke. "It's the scotch."

"I better be getting back then." she moved to stand.

"It's going to take you another half an hour to get back to your place so just crash on my couch. Drink this."

Emily debated with herself whether she should stay with the other woman still pining for her however the scotch beckoned her. Bringing the glass to her lips she took a long sip feeling the warmth slide down her throat with the slight burn. Lucy appeared next to her and handed her blankets, a pillow and some comfortable clothes to sleep in.

"Thank you for this." she set her glass down.

"Tch. I'm just glad I get to see you. Goodnight Emily."

"Night Lucy."

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Rubbing the sleep from her eyes she stretched and opened them only to close them just as quick. It was way too bright.

"Three glasses was way too much." she complained holding her head.

With her eyes closed the pounding subsided but she could hear her house guest moving around in the other room, most likely tidying up before she left. Rather than going out there to make small talk and possibly for the fact that as soon as she got up she would fall back down again she laid in bed hugging her duvet.

* * *

Emily knew it was a long shot but even so she got off the elevator one floor early like always, with the small feeling of hope that the beautiful media liaison would be standing there but it was to no avail. Sighing she carried on climbing the remainder of the stairs, if anything she was getting a decent work out every morning.

JJ was still annoyed, not as furious as she had been but still pretty damn close.  
The two women hadn't spoken since the incident and she sure as hell wasn't going to be apologise any time soon. Sitting down at her over crowded desk she began to look over paperwork making sure she had all the necessary documentation when her phone buzzed.

"Jareau."

"_Hey JJ."_

"Lucy. . ? Er hey, what can I do for you?" JJ heard her sigh.

"_Right I'm just getting this out here. Emily came to my apartment last night because she was upset about what she did and you know 'cause she's so stubborn she wont say anything."_

"So what? You're back together and she doesn't have the guts to tell me herself."

"_Cool it okay. She came because she wanted to talk to someone and that's all we did. We talked, with me knocking some sense into her head. All I want to say is extend an olive branch otherwise she wont budge. I didn't bow out for nothing JJ, make this work for you both. At one point or another you're going to collide and it's up to you both whether it ends in disaster or not."_

"I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean-"

"_It's okay. Now go."_

After hanging up the phone JJ called Emily to ask her if she had finished the paperwork on a past case yet and when she confirmed she had she asked her to bring it to her office to which Emily agreed. She was pacing the floor of her office, her heart pounding and even though she was annoyed she couldn't help but feel excited or help but think about those tantalizingly soft lips. The door creaked and the brunette stepped into the office closing the door round behind her.

"Here you go."

"Thanks." she took the file and placed it on her desk, Emily turned to leave. "Emily. . ."she paused. "About the other day, I over reacted. I'm afraid to lose this before it even starts. I wanted our first date to be -"

"First date?" the profiler shut the door and moved closer. "You think I would take you to some small coffee shop for our first date?"

"I just assumed, the way you asked." she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Oh no, that wasn't our first date. Not by a long shot. Listen, I'm sorry for what I said, I can get snarky when I'm tired but that's no excuse. I came in here fully expecting you to beat me with those files but lets do this properly." she closed the small gap between them. "Jennifer would you like to go on a date. With me?"

"Yeah, I would like that."

Emily smiled that brilliant smile. "Good, how about tomorrow? We're not scheduled to work."

"Okay, I'll call you with details."

"You bet." she winked at the blonde before turning and exiting the room.

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**A/N: So, did it flop?**

**I don't know what the exact timeline will be, I dont know if it will co-incide with any actual cases from the show, I dont know what Lucys does yet and I don't know how Will or Henry will factor in. Haha that's alot of 'dont knows' but I will figure it out and input from you all would be wonderful.**

**Next chapter will be the first date and the one and only Penelope Garcia will be intorduced! :) **

**Please review ~  
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	3. Doughnut Toast

**A/N: I would like to thank: Eternity, CloisDestiny, Cernie, erwfan, soccerstar11-5 and CJ1989 all for reviewing and such. Even the small positive ones make me smile :) **

**Second; this chapter is late, very very very late cause y'know I had to chase after that pesky white rabbit who tricked me into falling into a ditch.  
That and I have been crazy ill, who knew you could get a chest infection, ear infections, tonsillitis and wisdom teeth cutting all at the same time? **

**Enjoy ~ **

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Emily stood in front of her mirror for the umpteenth time making sure she looked just right for when JJ would pick her up. She had been told to dress smart casual; not a stunningly gorgeous dress and not sweat pants with a tank top. So she stood there fiddling with the black fitted shirt she had just buttoned up.

"Okay. Right, good, this looks good, yeah." she turned to the side. "Black jeans Emily? What are you trying to do? Depress her to death."

She changed into a pair of distressed blue jeans which, if she did say herself, looked rather good on her. Standing there doubt began to seep back into her thoughts but before she could do anything she heard the knock on her door.

Emilys heart began to race; frantically she grabbed all the clothes that were strewn across her bed and threw them into her closet before grabbing her shoes and running down the stairs two at a time. As she hit the floor she managed to keep up the momentum and slid to the door in her socks stopping just short of it. She felt rather impressed with herself but that was soon forgotten as another knock resounded from in front of her.

JJ was about to knock for a third time when the door opened revealing a flustered Emily which she found rather cute.

"Hey." JJ smiled.

"Hey, sorry about making you wait so long I was upstairs. . ." the brunettes words trailed off when she looked at the blonde.

"Em, Emily." she waved her hand trying to get her attention.

"Urh, yeah, what? Sorry."

JJ chuckled. "You okay?"

"Yeah, it's just you look _really_ good JJ."

"You see me everyday, just not usually this casual." she blushed.

"You still look really really good."

She rolled her eyes at the older woman trying to mask the growing blush. If Emily found her this attractive in just casual clothes how hot and bothered would she get when wore something that revealed a little more skin?

"Prentiss are you just going to stand there like a hormonal teenager and gawk cause we do have reservations to get to."

The brunette answered with a cute sheepish smile before grabbing her coat and heading out the door.

* * *

They had been driving for about ten minutes or so, making idle conversation with the radio softly playing music. It wasn't awkward for them; if there was a silence it was a comfortable one. This was something that had been established in their friendship for a while, of course there was electricity in the air, both of them slightly nervous but excited at the same time.

JJ had insisted on taking Emily out first as an apology for the coffee shop fiasco and even though Emily was stubborn the blonde was downright hard-headed so in the end she gave up.

"Where are we going again?" the profiler asked.

"One: I never told you in the first place and two: your not going to trick me into it either."

"Finnnnne."

The car suddenly made a startling grinding sound, it subsided but after a few moments it came back again, louder.  
"You can't be serious." the blonde muttered under her breath.

The car started to slow down causing the people behind her to honk loudly and pass by her.

"Turn into that supermarket, if we can make it that far we'll be out of the way."

After a lot of cursing from the feisty blonde she had managed to pull into the supermarket car park successfully getting out of the way of agitated motorists.

Getting out of the car she lifted the hood and smoke billowed out. "Fan-fucking-tastic."

Dark blue eyes flickered in annoyance at the hunk of steel being towed away as she leant against the window. The first date she had tried to take Emily on had already resulted in disaster and the table wouldn't be held for them either. It wasn't a fancy restaurant although it was rather popular.

"I'm so sorry, the night wasn't suppose to turn out like this."

"Don't look so worried." she pulled JJ close to her and wrapped her arms round her. The blonde inhaled deeply, feeling calmer.

Suddenly an idea struck the brunette. "Who says the night has to end here?"

JJ raised her eyebrow.

They were sat on a bench on the other side of the car park watching people come and go. Once the profiler had made her mysterious suggestion she dragged JJ into the supermarket, grabbing a basket she started to pick things up and told her to do the same.

"Are we actually doing this? Sitting on a bench, drinking wine out of paper cups?" she giggled.

"Hey, it's good wine Jareau." she smiled as she poured more into the cup.

"I think we bought enough junk food to feed thirty kids." she shivered.

Emily took her coat off and draped it around the blondes shoulders.

"Emily, I cant ta-" she got cut off by a pair of soft lips against hers.

"You can and you will. Did you never do this when you were a rebellious teenager?"

"_East Allegheny_ is a small town so everyone knows everything about everyone and their aunt. Don't get me wrong, that community spirit is great but it also means there is so much pressure on you, especially if you play a sport."

"Soccer."

"Yeah, that's how I got out of there, on a sports scholarship. At times it got suffocating, the amount of strain there was. If you're a small town team you play twice as hard just to get known, to make a name for yourself." she drank some more. "So during training season there was no drinking, no missing practice, no risking your place because otherwise you'd get stuck there."

"And you were the captain so you had all eyes focused on your leadership, of how you handled the team."

"Yeah, not that I would ever change it. I loved playing soccer, I still do but sometimes you just wanted it to be a simple sport for the fun of it."

"Come on. I've got somewhere I want to take you." she held out her hand.

Emily hailed a cab and told the driver where to go.  
The journey only lasted fifteen minutes and JJ was thoroughly perplexed as to where they were currently walking to. Once she gained her bearings she realised that they were a short while from the brunettes condo.

_'Sex? On the first date. I know we've like each other for a while but really? . . . Although she looks damn sexy." _JJ bit her lip as she thought.

Rounding a corner the profile led them out of the main roads, through a small park and to one of the quieter roads.

"Where are we going?" she asked mystified.

"You see that, across the road, parked up next to the grass bank?" she pointed and the blonde nodded. "You know like a burger van, they have them more in England than here, its like that but the guy doesn't sell burgers."

"Like a street vendor? But bigger and they just park up?"

"Yeah, come on!" Emily grabbed her hand pulling her across the road.

The old man bustled about cleaning things down, business was slow tonight so he decided to pack up early but just as he started he felt a presence at the counter. Turning round he smiled at his favourite customer.

"Emily!" he beamed. "It's been a long time since you last visited me."

"I know, real sorry about that. You're not packing up are you?"

"I was just tidying round, what can I get you? Whose your friend sprinkle?"

The brunette rolled her eyes at the nickname the old man had given her. "Dave this is JJ, JJ this is Dave. Creator of the best pancakes in the world."

The media liaison regarded the old man quietly, he was plump but of a stocky build with a full head of white hair and the moustache to match. Overall he looked like a jolly fellow but there was no doubt that he had experienced his fair share of pain over the years.

"It's nice to meet you Dave."

"The pleasures mine. Sprinkle is usually by herself when she comes here, its nice to see she _has_ friends." he grinned.

"If you didn't make such good pancakes I wouldn't keep coming back." Emily spoke as she ushered the younger woman to sit in front of the counter. "Pancakes?"

When JJ nodded Emily wandered round to the side and opened the door stepping in so she was on the other side of the counter with Dave who was moving boxes.

"These all clean?"

"That they are, clean as a whistle, still on too. Business was slow today." he answered before picking up some boxes. "Ladies I'll be right back, just gotta take this to the car."

As he left Emily began mixing up the batter and taking out all the ingredients she would need, cracking the eggs she added the flour and beat it together. JJ looked on, slightly bewildered; who would of thought that the Emily Prentiss would be on the other side of a parked up burger van cooking.

"What?"

She chuckled. "Nothing, it's just well, this is a scene to behold."

"Just because my parents are rich and I was raised 'proper' doesn't mean I'm above all this." she pointed the whisk at the blonde. "I found him when I was just wandering about and he called out to me saying it looked like I needed something sweet to make me smile." she shrugged. "So I took a chance and came on over and ever since then this has been my little get away."

Emily pulled out some bread, cut a slice and let is soak up whatever she had mixed in a separate tray whilst she dropped strawberries into a blender.

"He's a good guy."

"Sprinkle? What a wonderful nickname." blue eyes danced with mischievousness.

"You dare tell anyone we work with and I will personally make sure you never have coffee again." she threatened as she added icing sugar to the blender and turned it on.

JJ watched her take the bread out of the tray and lay it on the griddle at the same time as the batter mixture for the pancakes. She spread something out on the counter behind her before picking up the spatula.

"It's just nice to come to a place that is comfortable and talk to someone about anything and everything. Especially when you want to get out but you don't want to go to the effort of having to bother with people." she flipped the pancakes and the bread. "Before I became a part of your guys family I came here whenever we had a rough case and he would sit and tell about when his wife was alive."

"He's all on his own?" JJ asked.

"Yeah, sadly Edith passed away a few years before we met. She was the love of his life, no children but he doesn't let life get him down. He's happy doing this and meeting different people every day." Emily smiled as she put the pancakes on a paper plate and put them in front of the blonde.

She took the bread off the griddle, turned round and coated it in what JJ assumed was sugar before putting that on a plate and pouring over the blended strawberries and placing it next to her.

"Doughnut toast with a side of blueberry pancakes and a cup of hot decaf coffee." she put the cup in front of the blonde.

* * *

Lucy walked into the FBI building and headed straight for the technical analysts; Penelope Garcias office. Ever since she and Emily had broken it off she hadn't seen much of the group and even less of Garcia who was the first one to befriend her.

Penelope Garcia was the heart of the team, her optimism and kooky nature made them all smile in even the darkest moments. In her office her computers were surrounded by colourful figurines, small teddys and pictures of the team to help remind her to smile.

She knocked on the door and entered as Garcia swivelled around in her chair and gave her a pointed look.

"You my friend have some explaining to do."

"I come bearing gifts." she raised up the object in her hand.

Garcias eyes widened as Lucy walked over and placed the item in her hands.

"This. . . . this is . . ." her eyes darted from the object back up to green eyes. "How did you even?"

"I remember you saying something about having a love for these beanie babies and yes oh omniscient one that is the Royal Blue Peanut, TY inc beanie baby."

"Only a small amount of these were made due to the manufacturing error that made them a darker blue and you managed to get one?"

Lucy sat down. "It's nothing, auctions are fun anyway."

"Auction?" her jaw dropped. "How much?"

"Now why would I tell you that? I thought I would drop by to see you, JJ asked me to lunch so here I am."

As if on cue the younger blonde rounded the corner and knocked on the door.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

"Sure am."

As they started to walk out Garcias fingertips flew on the keyboard and they heard the words.

"Bloomin' heck."

* * *

JJ had called Lucy a few days after she and Emily had their date hoping that she could shed some insight on some things.  
After she had finished her pancakes they hung around and talked with Dave then headed back to the profilers condo as it was within walking distance and she stayed the night.

Nothing overly exciting had happened expect she woke up with Emilys arms still wrapped around her. Since then they hadn't been able to get any alone time and she was still uncertain of what it meant so who better to ask than the woman who lived with her.

As the waiter brought them menus she noticed Lucy was saying something.

"I swear whenever a girl finds out I'm a psychologist they always tell me what dream they had and ask me to explain it. One woman told me that she had a dream where it was her birthday but a rhino blew out her candles then she was running along this endless corridor but a giant cheese wall was blocking the exit. She asked me what it meant and all I said was 'you must eat some weird ass shit before you sleep."

JJ laughed. "You didn't?"

"Oh I did. A night out is where I do not have to psycho analyse another persons life."

The waiter returned as asked them what they would like in a terrible English accent.

"My dear boy if you are trying to charm us with that horridly fake accent you might want to try not using it on someone who is actually from across the pond."

Lucy was originally from England but she moved to America in her early twenties and had somehow retained her accent.

The waiter looked horrified as he quietly scribbled down their orders and left.

"So why did you move here?" JJ asked.

"Honestly, nothing over there is English any more. I don't mean posh, drinking tea and crumpets, the Queen type English I just mean the simple regard for the English language. Whether spoken or written everything is so "British" now. Not English, 'british'. Ugh I hate that term. The way some people speak is ridiculous, 'init' is not a term for confirming something. Oh and don't get me started on the way some people type, substituting e's for the number three and adding z's instead of s's. It's like an epileptic ferret had a fit on keyboard."

"Not a fan then?"

"I swear if the future generation continues to speak and write like that I will come back from the dead and bitch slap them all." her salad was placed in front of her. "So what's on your mind?"

"Uh, what? Nothing, I just thought we should catch up."

"Come on JJ, you don't invite your girlfriends ex to lunch just to chat."

"Okay well that's the thing. Neither one of has really confirmed what we are. I stayed at her place the other night." Lucy raised her eyebrow. "Nothing like that happened, we just fell asleep in her bed. She still had her arms wrapped around me but I'm just worried does that mean that she doesn't want to have sex with me? That she has changed her mind?"

"She stayed that close to you all night?"

"Yeah . . . why?"

"When I was with Emily she rarely did that. She likes her space when she sleeps, her own personal bubble so if she stayed like that with you, you must be something special. Why are you asking me for confirmation, why not go direct to the source?"

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to bother you with this stuff. It's just your the only one who knows her in that sense."

"It's okay. If she gets out of line send her to me and I'll give her a swift smack upside the head."

"Lucy I still don't quite get it. You loved her, you still love her but you gave her up. Why not wait a little longer to see if it changed. Ignorance is bliss as they say."

"It's like I said; when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object you have to move or you'll get crushed. I may not be a profiler but I do study people, I study their words, how they say things, the inflection in their voices. I knew I had to move but I didn't want to lose her completely so this way I saved myself some heartache and neither of you had to be a cheater."

JJ could see by her eyes that what she had said wasn't quite true, she could see remnants of heartache and sadness in those eyes.

"Lucy, I-"she got cut off by her phone ringing and nodded a small apology before answering. "Agent Jareau. Okay, I'll see what I can do."

"Duty calls?" Lucy asked.

"Murder never stops."

* * *

**A/N: Thankyou to Cernie – I was thinking about her being a psychologist and boom! You say it too plus it fits real well :) **

**But the next chapter is going to be to do with a case so would you like a simple overview of one or slightly more detailed version (without making it crazy boring)? If you have any ideas or anything message me or review. **

**Also you will notice that I made Lucy English – I thought I'd vary it up a bit.  
Oh and if you read her parts with an English accent in your head do tell me, a few people have told me that they have :D**

**Review and the next chapter will be all kinds of juicy deliciousness ;)**

**(thoughts on lemon scenes or things of that genre please)**


	4. Pinky Promise

A/N: I do not, and will never own Criminal Minds or the characters.

Enjoy ~

* * *

After the blonde duo had left, Garcia waited for the profiler.  
Everyone was under the impression that they were still together, Emily still hadn't quite got the hang of telling people about her personal life.

"What is that?" came a voice from behind her.

Garcia swivelled around in the chair and gave her a pointed look, raising her eyebrow slightly. The beanie baby was resting in her lap.

Emily stammered. "Er, I, um, urhh sorry?"

"This, my little cupcake, was a gift from your girlfriend. Do you know how much these cost? At auction this was $3500."

"Really, all that for a teddy?! Wait, girlfriend?" she asked confused.

"Yes that beautiful blonde haired, green eyed, far too generous lady who sleeps in your bed next to you."

She stared down at her, thoroughly perplexed as to why Garcia would think they were still together but then again, her demeanour hadn't changed. If anything she seemed a lot happier and to the people around her and it was only natural that they would attribute it to Lucy.

Just as she was about to tell her, JJ walked up to them. "Hey, what's that?"

Emily lifted the pot in her hand. "Oh this? It's Greek yoghurt with chopped walnuts, honey and chocolate chips."

"God that sounds good."

"Here try some." she dipped the spoon in and held it out for JJ.

Emily couldn't help but watch as those lips closed around the spoon. She stood transfixed to the spot until someone spoke.

"Wooah, hold on just a minute." Garcia stood up. "Is there something I should know about you two? Is that why. . . "

The other two women looked at each other and panicked slightly; JJ hoped Emily would be the first to say something but instead she had a mouthful of yoghurt, avoiding the imminent inquisition

"Er no. Should there be something?"

"Oh angelfish there's no point in trying to hide it. The sexual tension between the two of you is so thick you could cut a slice and serve it up. I'm guessing that's why Lucy hasn't been around as much, Emily you really have to learn the skill of 'girl talk'."

The profiler smiled sheepishly at her friend and just shrugged whilst JJ looked a little more embarrassed about the fact. "Is it really that noticeable?"

"Don't worry your secret is safe with me and no, just don't feed each other in the middle of the BAU." she grinned.

"Okay now that's settled, we have a case, conference room in five?"

The team gathered, sat down and began to go over the case files as JJ spoke.

"So far there have been three victims in total. The first was Jason Dean, 25, worked as a technical analyst. Martha Williams, 32, stay at home mum and Rebecca Marshall, 19, student." three pictures came up on the screen. "They were each killed two months apart."

"How long since Rebecca Marshall was murdered?" Hotch asked.

"A month and three weeks ago."

"So we have three victims, two women, one male, varying age and ethnicities. What's this guy doing?" Morgan spoke.

Emily squinted at the crime scene photos of each of the victims before asking. "JJ can you magnify their hands."

As she didm Emily got up and took a closer look. "He's positioned the body, look at the hands, the fingers mainly, the little fingers look as though they were entwined like this." she grabbed the blondes hand and entwined their fingers.

JJ was a little startled at first but a small smile made its way to her lips as she stood next to the brunette who was holding their hands up in a pinky promise.

"So what a pinky promise?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah but look, one of the pinkies has been cut off so he might be taking them as a souvenir." Emily brought their hands down but didn't let go.

"Killing someone over a pinky promise, aint' that a little much?"

"Traditionally, the pinky swear was tantamount to a handshake in terms of sealing a deal and originally indicated that whoever broke the promise would have to cut off their little finger; but these days you mostly see it amongst school children and often in animé." Reid piped up.

"Reid I want you to work on a geographical profile, Garcia find out if anything overlaps with the victims; medical records, if they attend the same church, banks. Prentiss take JJ with you and go talk to the families, Morgan we're going to go to the station and talk to the lead detective." Hotch gave out the assignments.

* * *

It was late; the small hours of the morning were creeping upon them. The majority of the day had been gathering information and working up a profile that they had given out. JJ was sitting in the conference room, leant back in the chair rubbing her sore eyes. Talking to the families was one of the hardest things that she ever had to do but she wouldn't change it for the world.

She let her hand rest over her eyes as her thoughts consumed her mind.

"You look beat."

"It's been a long day." she smiled wearily.

Emily looked into blue eyes, noting that even though the younger woman was tired she could still see the sparkle in them. She wondered if now would be a good time to bring up what happened this afternoon. After all, this might be the only quiet moment they would get together.

"Hey JJ, about earlier." she locked her hands together in front of her and gestured outwards with her thumbs. "It's not like I don't want people to know, you know, about us."

"It's okay, I get it. You're not into girl talk; your personal life is yours to talk about to whomever you want."

"That's not it." the brunette slipped into the chair beside her. "I prefer just us to know about us, not that I'm ashamed cause I'm not, not at all but knowing that it's our thing makes it special. Not having to share it with everyone just yet. Our own personal bubble, just us, no one else. I really like that."

JJ inwardly smiled at the cute rambling. "You do realise Garcia knows though?"

"Yeah but we both know she won't say a word." she moved the chair closer. "But you understand right? You know I'm not being all secretive cause-"

"Yeah I get it." she smiled and wrapped her pinky finger around Emilys.

"Hey, guys." Morgan's voice startled them, causing them to jump apart. "Garcia's got a name."

The unsub; who was now known as Greg Wrafter was on the move, possibly to his next victims house. Garcia had managed to catch him as he had used his last victims' credit card to purchase a new knife.

He was walking through an area which was full of security cameras, heading to an abandoned building.

The team got there shortly after he had entered. JJ and Garcia were watching from Garcia's office via the means of the security cameras.

"He's rapidly devolving so we need to be careful when we go in. We don't know if he has someone inside or not." Hotch said. "Morgan, you and me will go on. Prentiss and Reid wait outside in case he tries to make a break for it."

"So; you and Emily then?" Garcia asked.

"Yeah, me and Emily. Finally." she smiled but her eyes were completely focused on the screens.

"Is that why Lucy. . ."

She looked over at her friend "Yeah, I mean she came into my office and literally told me to go for it. Just walked on in and gave her up."

"I'm sure there was more to it than that."

"There is but I just can't help but feel like that bad guy. Like I'm somehow the cause for Lucy to be without her and I just can't fathom why she walked away from it. She did say-" her eyes flitted back to the screens just in time to see the brunette chasing the unsub. "Garcia, is there any way you can-"

"Yup, I'm on it." her fingers flew over the keyboard bringing up several new screens, switching between security cameras, following the profiler.

Emily had chased him from the building but he showed no sign of stopping and he was headed for a main road.

Just as she predicted he ran straight out into the road, narrowly missing the oncoming cars. She followed suit but just before she was in the clear; a car didn't manage to break in time. As it hit her, she barrel rolled onto the bonnet before continuing the chase.

Garcia and JJ both jumped and gasped.

"Did she just. . ."

The adrenaline was pumping through her veins as she ran faster and finally managed to pin the guy to the wall down a small alley way. Reid and Morgan both caught up to her.

"Prentiss, you okay?" Morgan asked, before grabbing the unsub.

"Yeah, I'm fine." she waved him off, slightly out of breath and limping.

* * *

She stood by the profilers' desk, her arms crossed over her chest and her foot tapping impatiently. She was angry at the rash decision of the brunette. Of course she knew they put themselves in harms way every time they had a case but she couldn't shake being annoyed at her.

Emily walked in behind the others, limping slightly but turning down any offer of help.

Garcia looked at her and as she passed mumbled "If you still can, run, run for the hills."

"What? Why would I run?" she chuckled before looking up to see a certain blonde staring at her. Involuntarily she swallowed hard.

"Heyy you." Emily greeted.

"Don't you 'hey you' me." she slapped her arm. "What the hell do you think you were doing out there?! You ran into oncoming traffic! You douche."

"First, ouch. Second, why are you so mad? I got checked over already, it's only a little bruising and possible swelling."

"Spence, did she get painkillers?" JJ asked without taking her eyes off Emily.

"Yes, I believe they're in her jacket pocket." he felt the glare the older woman was giving him. "What? She's scary when she's all like that."

"I'm driving you home." she ordered.

"I already tried JJ, that girl is stubborn." Morgan laughed.

JJ raised her eyebrow at Emily, daring her to try and refuse the gesture. They stayed like that until the profiler realised that the blonde wasn't going to give up.

"Okay, okay. I'll wait here while you go get your things?" she gently lowered herself into her chair.

Morgan walked over next to her and watched JJ walk away. "Why is she so angry at you?" he looked down. "We put ourselves in potential danger every time we get a case."

Emily let out a painful sigh as she shifted in the seat. "Yeah it's one thing to know about the danger we put ourselves in but seeing it is totally different."

"She saw you?"

"Yeeah. Running straight into oncoming traffic." she paused for a moment. "What kinda insult is 'douche' anyway?"

* * *

JJ followed Emily into her apartment but wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do. She was too angry to sit down; she couldn't stand in one place so she walked into the small kitchen area and opened a cupboard just to shut it again. Next she opened the fridge, stared at the contents before swinging the door shut and walking over to the window.

The brunette stood by the stairs quietly watching the media liaison as she wandered about. Slowly she made her way over to the blonde and gently wrapped her arms around her waist from behind.

"I didn't mean to scare you. I didn't know you were watch-"

"Save it Emily." JJ moved out of her arms and turned around. "It's not about whether I was watching or not! You could have gotten seriously hurt, you could have died. Do you even comprehend that?!"

"I know that, you know that, we know that! We put ourselves in danger constantly and I will do what it takes to catch those who murder and torture innocent people."

"What if what it takes is you dying Emily? You being dead! What then?"

The brunette took a deep breath, partially to calm herself down and to try and ease the throbbing of her right hip.

"Growing up, my mother and I had an extremely volatile relationship. We would argue, yell at each other and say things we regretted. It broke us down as people, we couldn't communicate. So we came up with a system; together we picked one place, in the entire house that we both felt comfortable in, our safe place, where we promised we wouldn't raise our voices. So we could talk _to _each other not _at_ each other." she took a step closer. "I want you to pick a place here, where you feel most comfortable, where you'll be able to talk and I promise I won't yell or shout or snap."

JJ's shoulders relaxed, her expression softened. "Your bedroom."

Emily nodded then took the younger woman's hand and led her upstairs, carefully she sat near the top of her bed cross legged, prompting JJ to sit in front of her in the same position.

She reached out and took her hands, gently rubbing her thumb across the back of each one.

"I know you and the team put yourself in danger, I know we're all at risk on whatever case. You know what's worse though? I pick the cases you guys work on, I decide which one has the top priority. I love my job but I can't help but shake the feeling that if you get hurt, seriously hurt that it's on me, because I decided that we should go there, or here, to catch that unsub before this one."

"You can't blame yourself for that. It's not your fault—"

"I get that. I guess seeing you physically get hurt scared me, it did. Thing is when I know your with a unsub, trying to talk them down that you'll do just fine because you have a brilliant mind. You will find a way to diffuse the situation, to reduce the chance of any of us getting hurt. I saw that car hit you and my heart stopped, I couldn't breathe I was so afraid you wouldn't get back up again."

Emily leant forward and took JJ's face into her hands, looking into her eyes. "I will always and I mean always get back up if you're there waiting for me."

* * *

With the kind of job they had, hours blurred into days, days into weeks. The last few had been extremely busy, there seemed no end to the amount of people who wanted to hurt others.

So the entire team was more than happy to be back at the BAU and have some quiet time. Emily and JJ were still keeping their relationship quiet, nothing much more had happened than kissing and heavy touching as it seemed that every time they began to take it further they got interrupted.

Hotch had called them into the conference room and told them that it was time for their psychological evaluations, which were compulsory for all and required by law. What they saw on a daily basis would have an effect on anyone's mental state so here they were; sitting, waiting for whomever it was to come in and start the process.

The sound of heels clicking on the floor made them look towards the doorway.

Hotch was the first on his feet, looking slightly bewildered as he greeted the woman.

"Lucy, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"No my lovelies, I'm the one who will be conducting your psychological evaluations."

The rest of the team all looked slightly bewildered, how could she be doing them? She had been in a relationship with Emily; she was friends with the rest of them. Surely those factors would count.

"B-but how can you be . . . does Strauss know?" Emily asked as Lucy placed some files on the table.

"Here's the deal, even Strauss has to conform to rules and regulations and right now they say that you bunch of wonderful people need to have this done. Also the government only employs the best psychologists to decide whether the men and women of this country are fit to serve it. Boom, that's where I come in." she picked up a file.

"Well it's good to have you on board." Hotch spoke.

"Thank you." she smiled at him. "Also Strauss knows I am the best psychologist this side of wherever. I know some of you, some a little more than others." she smirked slightly in Emily's direction.

JJ felt annoyed at the fact that Lucy had been far more intimate than she had with Emily so far. Surely it was time to take things a little further? What was she scared of? That she wouldn't be good enough? That Emily wouldn't be satisfied with her? That she would compare her to Lucy?

". . . or you could have Dr. Quack." she looked up from the file she was flipping through. "No, really. The guys last name is quack, must get the crap bullied out of him. He's like a hundred and his hearing isn't so great. Why they keep him on, I have no clue." she swapped the file in her hand for a different one. "So you can have me and this will be done and dusted in a week or two or him and it could take a month."

They all smiled and nodded in agreement.

"So they've set me up in a small, spare office. Once I have everything ready we can get started. A few things: my door is open whenever you need it. I'm here to talk about anything that's bothering you. When we are working please address me as Dr. Quinn." she paused for a moment and raised her eyebrow in Morgan's direction. "And if any of you so much as make a Dr. Quinn: Medicine Woman joke, I'll make sure you're on desk duty for months."

* * *

**A/N:**

**So case overview and I know I'm lacking on some medical facts regarding the barrel rolling on to a car bonnet thing. Can you even do that? And come out safeish? Anyway, Prentiss is a bad ass so she can. Take it all with a pinch of salt.**


End file.
